Els: I can cope with Tiger

Ernie Els claims he has nothing to fear from Tiger Woods when he begins his defence of The Open title against the world No1 and pre-tournament favourite on Thursday.

After winning the Scottish Open yesterday by five shots, the Surrey-based South African said: "I can compete against him."

That has not always been the case and Els has admitted in the past to playing in the shadow of his American rival.

But the manner of his victory at Loch Lomond, where a final round of 69 and 17-under-par total of 267 left European Ryder Cup teammates Darren Clarke and Phillip Price trailing in his wake, caused Els to claim: "I feel I am a different player from a couple of years ago.

"I believe I can take up the challenge better than I have in the past, and I feel my total game is of a better standard."

Els also dismissed concerns that he might have peaked too early. He said: "I've won a couple of times back-to-back this season and I've got more confidence going into a major than I've had for a long time."

Meanwhile, British players Alastair Forsyth, Philip Golding, Greg Owen, Iain Pyman, Mark Roe, David Lynn and David Howell have all secured Open places through a mini-order of merit.